In life, it is the delicious stuff that counts.

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because I’m too lazy to do a proper post…

Vegetarian birthday cake for dearest Banu… When she was ordering it, Zhen told me, “Must be a death by chocolate experience ah.” So I frantically went online and started to look for a fudgy chocolate frosting that would be rich, vegetarian, and most importantly, chocolatey enough to kill someone. Half an hour of weeding thorugh seemingly lacklustre recipes, I spotted this. It was a godsend. I made the frosting with pure Varlhona Guanaja… 6 full ounces of highest grade 70% cacoa- you can only imagine how it tasted. I almost expired after doing the mandatory taste test…which kinda gradually upgraded itself to an entire meal of chocolate frosting. It was really out-of-this-world. Everything about it was great: the dark “lick-me” color, the meltingly rich mouthfeel, the thick consistency which meant you can both spread and/or pipe it on, and the shiny, glossy texture. (I’ll post the pictures of the how-to of this amazing frosting soon.)

So, together with vegetarian chocolate cake layers, fresh strawberries and million-dollar chocolate frosting, I think this was enough to count for at least, a chocolate-induced comatose state, if not death. I hope I made you proud Ah-zhen…

Birthday cake for my uncle. This was a plain butter cake, frosted with meringue buttercream. I liked how it turned out. Simple and sweet. This was my first time trying to pipe a shell border and I’m happy with the outcome… I used a star piping tip with fine lines so that the shells would have more detail and after a bit of practice, I got the hang of piping the patterns out. The M&M border was for his 5-year old daughter who is just starting to discover the wonders of chocolate.

Pretty shell pipings…

This was a fun cake to make. It was for two boys, aged 11 and 12, and their mothers asked for something “very chocolately because both the boys love their chocos”. Okay then! Let’s get to it. I didn’t want to overdo the chocolate, because really, sometimes too much of a good thing can really be too cloying. So instead of a cake that used real melted dark chocolate, I baked a moist cake that used Varlhona cocoa and sandwiched the layers with fresh berries, meringue buttercream and dark chocolate shavings. To top it off, the chocolate fudge frosting (in a mini-shell border as well!), a rim of M&Ms and caramelized almonds. I loved how fun it looked at the end… perfect for a kid’s party I thought.

Thanks Maya, and don’t sell yourself short!! YOu make lovely treats… I always adore your cupcake designs!! I’m so lazy to make cupcakes cos they take so much time to decorate individually… Kudos to your patience and hard work!

Nithya.. it’s so cool that you like baking too! And all the recipes for the cakes and frostings above (except for the fudge frosting) have been written up in previous posts on this blog… just have to search a bit. I’ll try to put up the links in this post itself so it’s easier to find. =)

Baynoo doll, thanks for the oh-so-gracious pardon. As you may have noticed, your cake got top billing as the first picture, and big big size somemore oki? hahhaha. Love you sweetie and happy birthday again! *muacks*

Thanks Julie…
I bought these little pastillage hearts from Bake It Yourself, a speciality baking shop in Novena, along BukitTimah Road. They sell all sorts of nifty stuff, including a ton of decorations for cakes and cupcakes… you should check it out!

Hi , Ive tried twice this morning to make the swiss meringue buttercream but dunno wht happened. Ist time – buttercream was like curdled so i beat more, then it became like liquid, had to throw tht away. 2nd time – was careful – i whisked the egg white + sugar for 3 mins n checked tht all sugar melted. Then whisked but texture still not smooth like urs n i darent beat more cos wht happened earlier. I can pipe but the lines r not clear cos buttercream was not stiff enough. Can u please advise? Its taste really yummy though!

Hi Lissa,
I have a feeling you just had to beat it longer…!! This is a truly scary recipe cos it takes so long for the soupy mixture to thicken. The first time I tried it I almost threw it all out too ‘cos I thought I’d done something wrong. But luckily I continued to beat the mixture and it eventually did thicken, after about 10-15 mins of beating with the electric mixer!

I’ll write a post soon with accompanying step-by-step pictures so it’ll be easier to attempt this recipe!

I just found your blog and have been drooling over the cake pictures. Your icing is perfect. I’m wondering if you’d consider doing a post sometime on how best to ice a cake. I am fine with a pastry bag, but have such a hard time getting a smooth finish when icing the entire cake. I’d love to hear any secret or technique you use. Your cakes are truly gorgeous!